Are robots the future of Amazon? The US e-commerce giant’s robotic lab near Boston is working to automate its distribution centers around the world.
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“What we’re going to do in the next five years will surpass what we’ve accomplished in the last ten years,” warned Joe Quinlivan, vice president of Amazon’s robotics division, Thursday during a press conference inaugurating that innovation hub a year ago in Westborough in the northeastern United States.
Founded 28 years ago by Jeff Bezos, the company unveiled its latest creation, a yellow robotic arm dubbed “Sparrow” capable of recognizing, selecting and managing “millions of products” of all sizes and shapes.
Unlike its predecessors, who can only align packages, “Sparrow” can manipulate objects thanks to its cylindrical tubes that suck them in and then place them in different baskets.
This should allow employees to stop performing repetitive tasks to focus on “more rewarding and interesting” activities while improving “safety,” says Tye Brady, an Amazon Robotics manager.
According to Joe Quinlivan, nearly 75% of the 5 billion orders the e-commerce giant processes are already being processed by some sort of robot.
“It’s not about machines replacing people. It’s more about machines and people working together,” defends Mr. Brady.
The company’s robotization has created more than a million jobs in recent years, specializing in engineering in particular, but also in maintenance, as well as technicians and operators, Amazon officials say.
Negative for employees
While the notion that increased automation of work would lead to mass job destruction isn’t supported by the latest figures released by the US Bureau of Statistics in July, the increased use of robots can still have a negative impact on workers .
While these technologies make it possible to make certain tasks in warehouses easier, they can actually “help increase workloads and work pace with new methods of monitoring workers,” researchers at Berkeley University warned in a 2019 study.
They cite the example of the MissionRacer video game used by Amazon, in which employees compete against each other to assemble customer orders faster.
Robotization can also be used by employers to “lower the skill level required for a job to reduce training and hiring costs,” which can lead to “wage stagnation and job insecurity,” d’ according to the same source.
Regularly accused of “modern slavery” by its critics, Amazon, the second largest employer in the US after retail giant Walmart, has so far managed to ward off all attempts by employees to unionize except at a warehouse in New York.
The e-commerce giant, which bought robotics company Kiva a decade ago, develops computer programs, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic manipulation, simulation, predictive analytics and prototype design.
Notably, the company can produce “1,000” robotic units at its Westborough facility.
To shorten the time between buying a product and receiving it, Amazon also plans to launch light-duty drone package deliveries in two cities in California and Texas by the end of the year.